Low doses of bromocriptine shorten the interestrous interval in the bitch without lowering plasma prolactin concentration

Abstract

In order to investigate the effect of different doses of bromocriptine on plasma prolactin concentration and the interestrous interval, beagle bitches were treated twice daily with 5 μg (5-group), 20 μg (20-group), or 50 μg (50-group) bromocriptine per kg body weight orally, starting 28 days after ovulation. In the 5-group, the difference between the mean plasma prolactin concentration before and that during bromocriptine treatment was not significant. In contrast, mean plasma prolactin concentration decreased significantly after the start of bromocriptine treatment in the 20- and 50-groups. The mean interestrous interval was significantly shorter in all three groups than in untreated bitches in the same colony. The mean interestrous interval in the 20-group and that in the 50-group were similar, but both were significantly shorter than that in the 5-group. The results of this study indicate that bromocriptine shortens the interestrous interval in the bitch even when the dose is so low that it does not lower plasma prolactin concentration. Induction of estrus in the bitch by bromocriptine therefore involves a mechanism other than via the lowering of plasma prolactin concentration. Furthermore, this study shows that the extent of shortening of the interestrous interval by bromocriptine is dose dependent.